


Carrousel

by soulrider



Category: Star Stable, Star Stable Online
Genre: Angst, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-22 23:51:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18538003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulrider/pseuds/soulrider
Summary: Elijah and Azzura are send to the circus to investigate the sudden radio silence, but they stumble onto something that's more than they bargained for.Azzura belongs to azzura-knight on tumblr. Taken from an rp we had.





	Carrousel

It had been quite some time since the druids last checked on Ydris and his whereabouts and some time since the odd magician seemed to have gone into hiding on Nilmer's Highland. This had worried Elizabeth and some of the other high druids, so they had to send out some scouts to investigate. Elijah had been training Azzura to control her shifting better and so was just in time for this expedition, much to everyone's distaste the two of them had been picked out to go, being both at least somewhat Pandoric in origin. 

Especially Elijah was absolutely thrilled, which meant not at all. They didn't have much of a choice either way, they were indebted and no way they'd let Azzura go by herself. So the two of them were currently trotting up the hillside towards the highlands. It was still early and the sun was just peeking beyond the hills. Elijah was used to and liked waking up early, but tonight they had been hunched over Evergray's journal until approximately 5am, giving them next to no sleep.

"You told me he likes to hide away like this before doing something stupid and dramatic. Any guesses this time?" Azzura broke the silence between them. It was a little game between them, trying to come up with the wildest explanations to whatever was going down at the time, it took their minds off the very real danger and possible outcomes.

Elijah huffed. "Not sure, but I can tell you it’s gonna be an annoyance. For us, that is," they said.  “Chatting with Zee will be the only good thing about this, I don’t get to catch up with her enough,” Eli added with a wistful sigh. They were pretty good acquaintances with the mare, she seemed to be the only one with actual brain cells in the Pandoric group. "Might you have any guesses?"

Azzura shook her head in response, the look on her face pensive.  “I don’t know actually. He’s too much of an enigma for me to even guess what’s going on... Guess we will see soon though... did you find anything in the research last night?”

Elijah could feel the beginning anxiety roll off of Azzura in waves, Ydris always tried to provoke the young girl and trigger her Pandoric features or simply to taunt her. They took a deep breath and made a point of it to keep their own cool, to maybe help her too.

“Not a lot, just a lot of recordings on local flora, but I did find a sketch that vaguely represented one my own,” they said with a lopsided smile. If you didn't know what to look for you wouldn't have recognized a Molnija in the sketches, Evergray's drawing skills left something to be desired but from the written descriptions it definitely was one of Eli's. It reminded them of the first time they met the strange man and he spoke of masked people he met in his travels.

Thankfully that happened to make Azzura laugh, any kind of distraction was welcome to her at this point.  “He isnt the most flattering artist. He tried drawing me a few weeks ago and I looked like Justin with cracked skin...” she said, causing Elijah to shake their head, amused at the image that formed in their head.

Heading towards the open field where the circus was located, the tension in the air came back with full force. It was a sense of danger, telling them to turn around and leave. But a warned man counted for two, so they had to keep pushing on, guards up high.

“Okay, here we go. Don’t let him get to you, he’s got nothing on us, nothing that’s _real_ ,” Elijah said, looking at Azzura. Ydris was all bark and no bite, he was a master of trickery and illusion, a master of getting under your skin. He couldn't harm them, not in ways that mattered.

“Nothing that’s real..." she repeated, putting a hand over her chest. Elijah knew what that meant, the magic lingering in the air affected her and hurt her, bringing out her shifting against her will. Azzura had made strides in controlling that part of her, but the raw energies that the circus emitted were hard to resist. “Don’t let him change me please," she added, it was more of a harsh demand than an actual request.

Elijah halted Eagle, the gelding coming to a stop and they hopped off of him, patting his neck as a thanks for the long ride. Their hand lingered there, the horse's breathing and heartbeat kept them grounded. "I won't, he won't get near you." It was a promise that matched Azzura's coldness, but it had a fire burning underneath it.

 They could feel the tingle of magic at their fingertips, it made their fingers slight elongate, forming to represent claws, but they refused to let the magic alter them any further. It wasn't time yet.

“C’mon, let’s go get this over with. He's expecting us," Elijah said, their jaw clenched. The cart that Ydris occupied looked abandoned, there was no live soul in there. Unlike the circus tent, from which came light and music, it almost seemed inviting. 

They took the lead in heading towards the tent, Azzura hovering a few inches behind them. As per usual, the doors opened by themselves, allowing to pair to pass through, where they were greeted by the brightly lit ring. Hundreds of eyes seemed to spectate them from the bleachers, Ydris' audience.

“We’re not here for a show, Ydris. We just want to ask some questions and we’ll be on our way," Eli said, standing tall as they scanned the arena for any sign of the magician.

A musical laugh rang through their ears. "Mon cherie there is always a show to be held! Ask your questions if you must, though I ask only for something in return. We must play fair my rose," Ydris' voice echoed, and the louder it got the lower the lights went, wrapping the two of them in darkness.

Internally, Elijah groaned. They kept their face blank, Ydris took any kind of emotion as encouragement for his nonsense.

“I don’t really think we can be fair if you won’t face us yourself, don’t you think? Then you can put down your terms,” they said, their eyes adjusting easily and fast to their new dark surroundings. They were not happy about having to playing along, but it was the best shot they had at not leaving empty handed and keeping Azzura from being his target. 

In response he tsk'ed, appearing behind their backs as black smoke curled away from his form while he approached them.

"My! How healthy the both of you look! So strong, although chained.. It's truly my lucky day," Ydris grinned, moving to pace in a circle around the two of them, his hands fluttering as a motion to the scar on Elijah's neck. Azzura was tense at their side, moving as Ydris moved as if she was readying herself for whatever was necessary.

Elijah breathed in deeply, letting Ydris say whatever he needed to so he could get the annoying out of his system. Their face softened as they glanced over to the girl, to try and reassure her somewhat.  “I’ll handle this, no worries. You can step out if you like,” they said, not putting a hand on her shoulder though as they weren't sure if Azzura could act out. “Now, what are your terms, conman? We don’t have all night."

“For every answer I give you, you must give me something in return. Whether by word or form, both will do. The sweeter your offering the more I shall give in return. I can bring you answers that the druids will never give you!” His face and voice suddenly had something gentle, honey dripping from his words. Azzura was having none of it though, glaring at him and shaking her head, it wasn't worth it to give valuable information to this... traitor. "My.. you sure have outgrown your nickname, haven't you little flea? How about.. my little _fae?_ " That hit a weak spot for her, she froze up and looked away, so Elijah instinctively stood in front of her to hide her from Ydris' line of sight.

“Alright, I’ll bite. What are you up to?” they said, crossing their arms over their chest and narrowed their eyes slightly.

Said man went up in smoke only to reappear halfway across the ring, waving his hand dismissively at the pair. "Can a magician not hold his magic? Not prepare for a show in the making? The lot of you aren't my only admirers, you know," he said, the smirk evident in his even if they could not see his face.

Elijah crossed their arms while watching this so called spectacle of Ydris displaying simple powers that came within his race. “Easy, he’s just guessing. Your reactions will give you away,” they whispered to Azzura as a warning.

Eli took a few steps in his direction to show they were not backing off. “You’re not a real magician Ydris, actual magicians can bend the truth without shenanigans. And you didn’t answer my question now, did you? That wasn’t the deal,” they said, raising their eyebrows at him. Two could play at this game. “But I mean, if you don’t want to see what you’ve been missing... that’s on you I suppose.” Elijah shrugged and turned around, walking back towards the entrance of the tent as if to promptly leave. 

Like they had predicted, they heard a snarl from somewhere behind them, but what they did not expect was for Ydris to turn to Azzura, whispering to her that he knew, that he could give her answers. Elijah spun back on their heels and they were met with a sour expression on Ydris' face.

 “I am here because my home - our home- is beginning to fall apart from the things that is chained there. The thing you work to keep there. Do stay for a little game. You wouldn’t want to lose your favorite piece my love..." he said while digging his fingernails into Azzura's shoulder, which prompted something feral to spark in Elijah's eyes. 

As Ydris kept Azzura's gaze locked into his, she gasped and Elijah hissed, stepping towards them.

“You know just as well as I that I do _not_ want Garnok there. I’m just not selfish enough to save it by causing the downfall of another world." A low, warning rumble formed in their chest. Purple dark enough to be mistaken for black stained their right arm up to their elbow, claws long and sharp as they wrapped it around Ydris' forearm. “I’ll play your game. But touch Azzura again and you’re losing that arm, Ydris,” they threatened, but their voice was steady and cool. The magician had to know Eli well enough to know they didn’t make empty promises.

He did not respond to the threat, he just looked annoyingly pleased with himself because he caused the change in Elijah's arm. Azzura was staring as well, but from her only came unsure, fearful emotions.

"You attach to beings so fragile.. a pity. What else brought you here, doll? One question cannot be all you have?” he asked, malice shining in his eyes as they darted Azzura for a moment and back to Elijah.

They relaxed slightly as Ydris retreated his arm, but they moved not very subtly in front of Azzura again, they couldn't take chances here. An idea popped into their head, Ydris had more recent connections in Pandoria than they did. And even after weeks of research they and Azzura had come up short on information about her family and they had been grasping at straws anyway, if Ydris hadn't been one of their last options Elijah wouldn't even have considered this.

“What are you _planning_ to do? You’ve been quiet,” they said, crossing their arms again, a stark contrast between dark purple and pale pink. “Also, is it just you, Zee and Xin here? No contact on the other side?”

Ydris immediately picked up on the double meaning, a wolfish grin spread on his face and he went up in smoke again, reappearing behind Elijah and in front of Azzura to tug her along with him. “Looking for someone in particular? I can help you look. I have my connections.”

Elijah rolled their eyes, they were starting to wonder if Ydris just wanted to give them a work out while they walked over to the two of them. They gently tugged her back again, they didn't want her this close to the other Pandorian. She seemed dazed, hiding her fingers under her arms and Elijah gave her a worried once over.

"Breathe, remember? Don't hold your breath, that'll make it harder to control," they whispered and let go of her. Azzura nodded and took a step back, glaring into the dark where Ydris had moved to and cleared her throat.

"What do you know of my race. I need-" she cut herself off, thinking about how to word this.

A hum filled the air, as if it was vibrating. "Your race... Fae, I need to know more then that! Try harder."

Azzura looked at Elijah, wide eyed and unsure. They understood.

“Some kind of tree people, very secluded,” they answered in her place. There were multiple kinds of fae-like creatures out there and most of them interacted closely, so this was a very broad description that still covered the important parts.

Ydris came out of nowhere, a spotlight beaming down on him from where he sat on the bleachers. "Secluded you say?" the magician tapped his chin before waving a hand."Tall? Magic?" The man turned and poked a finger towards Azzura, her heart suddenly lighting up with magic as he did. "Often a little more...exposed?" 

He laughed coldly, walking straight off the chairs and falling into nothingness before a very lifelike Dryás appeared before the pair, hands extended and face blank as Ydris' voice came from somewhere. "Something like this?"

Elijah pursed their lips and walked a circle around the illusion. “Nice try, I have to admit. You’re close, but it’s not quite the same,” was their judgement, a sly smile on their face that they only showed to Azzura. “And why do you feel the need to try and make a spectacle out of everything? Can’t we just talk like civilized people if you apparently like us so much? Because you have been stalling. Can’t we talk like we used to?” Eli said, experimentally waving a hand through the illusion to try and figure out what it was made of. Pure Pandoric energy apparently, because they had no human hands left now.

Azzura had followed behind them curiously, she stumbled and held back. "Are you okay?" she said, her voice soft and worried as she looked around.

Elijah nodded. "No worries, I can control it for now. Should’ve known he pulls his energy from that,” they almost couldn't finish up their sentence as Ydris' arm ghosted behind their back as if to wrap around their waist. They startled and jumped a few feet away, shuddering at the thought of it.  “Azzura, sweetheart. This is why you don’t date _anyone_ that resembles a man, okay?”

“You never seemed to intent to talk to me little lamb. I missed seeing you squirm.” Before Elijah could react Ydris turned and appeared in front of Azzura, leaving no room between them. “By sun they hide, by moon they cry. Loose someone close and copy their minds.” Like a snake Ydris grabbed Azzura’s chin to force her to look up at him, the magician studying something there for a moment before letting go. “I can offer you only a portal to a populated grove. But that will take some time to fashion. I have been, busy as of late.”

Something snapped inside of Elijah, Ydris threatening aura wrapped around Azzura's and that alone made them hiss sharply. They absolutely had enough of the magician crossing their boundaries and acting like he could do whatever the fuck he wanted.

This time they didn't hesitate to dash forward to grab Ydris by his throat, using the element of surprise and their advantage in speed to slam him down onto the ground, their claws slightly puncturing his skin. In sync with the hit, six eyes bore into Ydris’. _”What did I tell you about touching her?”_ said the white haired, in fluent Pandorian, their blind sense of having to protect broke their Earthen accent.

Everything went dead silent. Then Ydris laughed, malice lighting up his blue eye that had turned purple now. "T’as d’beaux yeux, tu sais? _Be a shame if something happened to them..."_ he taunted. "Don't lose control mon cherie _,_  you can't afford to lose anything else."

Elijah growled at Ydris, their tails swishing like an agitated feline. At this point they were kind of scared that they might actually lose their cool completely with one more wrong move, and in his domain that may result into their shifting all the way. “You know nothing about what I have lost,” they hissed, pressing further into Ydris’ neck. “And I won’t ever again, not to someone like _you_.” They wanted nothing more than to rip his pretty little head off right now, but somewhere in the back of their mind they were still aware that Azzura was closeby.

Ydris would never know what they had gone through, yes they both had their families and home ripped away from them, but he would never know the agonizing feeling of being utterly lost. Elijah had their identity stripped away from them, every single thing they cared about. They had lost _Anne_.

Ydris only closed an eye and lifted his chin to try and get away from the claws, the grin not leaving his face. “Lose your form you may lose a friend. Though beneficial in your goal it will make more than the rift I can give you.” Darkness began to collect at the others fingers as he flexed his magic out. The air beginning to grow heavy with it as he held on to the reserve he’d been collecting.

Elijah had itching all over their body, they felt wound up like a spring, ready to pounce at any moment. They lifted Ydris slightly only to hit his head against the ground again. “Can’t you speak normal English for _once_ in your bloody life?” They had no patience or a head clear enough to even consider trying to figure out what he was onto this time. Whatever he was doing made it harder to breathe for Eli and they shook their head to try and get some grip on themselves. “What are you trying to accomplish now? Try and make it all dramatic? I thought you liked being choked, huh?” they snapped, standing up fully without letting go of Ydris, so he was hanging with his feet off the ground in Elijah’s claws.

He reached up to wrap a hand around one of Elijah's arms, as if to relieve some of the pressure. The magic had faded and Azzura started screaming at them.

"Elijah stop! Let him go! You know he’s just going to hurt you!" she yelled, making their head snap up to look at her. They gasped as they realized she was full on sobbing, the vicious look in their eyes faltered. Azzura was losing herself, her features were cracking and changing and it scared Elijah senseless.

They were about to let go of Ydris, but from the corner of their eye they saw a tendril wrapping behind them and they weren't fast enough to stop him. It was a limb made of raw Pandoric energy and Ydris hit them with it hard, right on their scar, the most vulnerable point of their body.

It caused Elijah to promptly drop him and fall to their knees _screaming_ , high pitched and clawing at their neck because the burn spread through their entire body. It hurt, oh god did it hurt. It brought them right back to their first day on the island, how it felt like hours of agonizing torture as they were contained in a human body. They couldn't go through this again, they didn't know how. A sickening snap of bones echoed through the tent, their entire body had to readjust to the new structure of their built. This was nothing like going through their half form, this felt like they were being ripped apart and had to be sown back together like some Frankenstein's monster. Their ribs pierced through their skin and they must've been a horrific sight, fur sprouting from all over and it wasn't until then that the screaming faded away.

Elijah was shaking all over as they tried to open their eyes and realized what had happened. “What in _the bloody hell_ did you do to me, you bastard?” they growled, their voice now warped and foreign, not moving a muscle because they were scared it would make the pain return.

"I set you free," Ydris said, and Elijah dared to look at him and caught him shrugging still. It wasn't until now that they noticed that he held onto Azzura's shoulders where she was shaking and tears still streamed down her face.

They made a warning noise, their breathing heavy and ragged as they tried to figure out how to get their body to do what they wanted. It had been two years. They could feel the brand burning brighter than ever, the seal had not been broken.

"Azzura, I.." Elijah started, but decided against it and closed their mouth, shaking their head. _”What now? Are you happy? Is this what you wanted?”_

 _“Y _ou can’t lie about yourself to those you love. I would have thought you of all beings to take that into consideration!_ ” _Ydris hissed back in pandorian before he crouched beside Azzura and slowly wrapped his arms around the other, never breaking eye contact as he did. “I can get a portal in a few days. You will need to help Elijah though you cannot go alone. They will need help with that seal however. Can you do that?” A faded look came over Azzura as a glamour fell over her.

Nodding her head slowly she turned to Elijah with less fear now, but still concern. “Will they be okay after? I don’t want Elizabeth to know.” Ydris only nodded, the glint never leaving his eyes as he twisted his fingers to the side as if controlling a puppet and kept Eli’s stare.

In the meanwhile they had managed to stand up, it felt weird, unreal to be themselves again, but dear god did Elijah miss it. Sadly there was no way for them to revel in it in this situation. They did however stretch out from head to toe, their spine cracking to adjust and they shook their fur out.

“Leave her alone, she doesn’t need you to talk any more crap into her head besides your promise,” they warned Ydris, now towering over him while standing fully as they should. “Don’t pretend to be a puppeteer, let her go or I’ll bite your head off.”

Ydris snapped his fingers and disappeared from Azzura's side, in that same moment her eyes cleared up again and she just stared at Elijah.

Clearing their throat Azzura’s voice came out light and a little weak as they tried to talk. “Does it- does it hurt...?” They walked up slowly with a hand out, the heavy feeling in their chest suddenly light and their fingers buzzing as the bark remained. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore and I don’t- I don’t want to take _this_ away from you like _she did_..”

Elijah smiled sadly, which probably looked more threatening than they meant to in this form. A wave of guilt washed over them, they never wanted this. They had wanted to show Azzura in peace, let her explore and take it easy while Eli showed her this. Now she was scared, scared of _them,_ and that feeling was almost worse than whatever pain they had just endured. She was like a daughter to them, and seeing your child have genuine fear in their eyes while still trying to help you was excruciating. 

Elijah let out a shaky breath they had been holding, keeping their movement slow as to not startle Azzura, and bend down as far as was comfortable to be able to see face to face with her. “I’m fine, darling. Just the brand trying to force me back,” they said with a wry smile, barely visible from the angle the girl was looking at them. Elijah held out their hands to her, palms facing the ceiling in a gentle encouragement. “It’s okay, I can’t stay like this. Do what you must,” they said, inhaling deeply while trying to push the memory away from their first experience in Jorvik.

It was so unfair, they had so little time and they wished with a burning heart that they could enjoy this a little while longer in the circus of hopes and dreams, where time wasn't real. But Ydris was watching, and Elizabeth was watching. There was no rest for the wicked.

“I don’t now how this will hurt and I’m sorry if it does. Can you promise you won’t crush me?” Azzura was hesitant as they took Elijah's claws into their hands. “Will it be easier to do this slow and easy into it or all at once like a bandaid?” Azzura’s voice came out soft and an odd accent fell onto it, Elijah could see she was falling into her element. “I don’t- I don’t want to hurt you this has been a fucking day...”

Elijah simply rolled their eyes, as if that was the most important thing right now.

“Pinky promise. Worst case scenario I’ll drop you, but I’m staying low,” they assured her. “Bandaid please.”

The first time it was done it had been slow because the druids had no clue what to expect, so Eli would rather get it over with already. They shook their head as to silence her. “No time to feel guilty. I can’t leave like this and you know that. It’s gonna be okay,” they spoke in a gentle tone.

They could feel the tremor in everything Azzura did, and god, they couldn’t blame her. Elijah didn’t belong here, and they had messed up real bad this time. “Go on, you can do it.” They bend their head down to expose their neck, the brand that was lit up bright and the fresh claw marks they had caused which oozed icy blue blood.

Azzura only nodded and took a deep breath as they started to cry again. “Okay I- okay!”

This was such a loaded moment that even Elijah had a hard time to not cry with them, this body unlocked their empathy way further and it hurt to feel them hurt. They closed their, trying to focus on the ancient songs Azzura sang, gentle words falling from their lips.

Elijah could only gasp for air, Azzura’s magic hitting them like a truck. Staying focused was impossible but they were vaguely aware of her trying to calm them and reduce the amount of pain it brought, but getting your bones restructured remained a horrible experience. Bit by bit their features became human once more, even their usual “half form” traits disappearing so that eventually Eli was on their knees in front of them, barely managing to stay upright.

When the last bit of purple disappeared from their skin, they breathed out a quiet: “Thank you,” followed by their eyes promptly rolling back into their skull and going limp in the middle of the ring.

Azzura bent down to rest a hand on the others back before crying out, diving to catch Elijah

Ydris immediately sighed before appearing behind Azzura and tapping their chin. "I can't help much my fae..." Azzura only locked up at the voice before turning to glare at Ydris.

 _"Just help me get them out of here. I don't want to see you until we come back for the portal._ " their eyes immediately blazed as their voice echoed back in Pandoric, causing the magician to take a step back before grinning maliciously.

"I see." Ydris waved a hand to bring the tent doors open, Knight and Eagle immediately calling out as Zee brought the two in, moving to Elijah to nudge them in greeting. Azzura refused to take their eyes from Ydris however, struggling to put Elijah on their horse as they did.

"Good day Ydris, I'll be sure to make sure Elijah hunts you down when they wake up."


End file.
